Refrigerator car



March 25, 1941.

c. D. BONSALL REFRIGERATOR CAR ori inal Filed Nov. 16, 1936 1 l I l l l l I l I 2 Sheets-Shee t 1 E1 1 n I I March 25, 1941. c. D. BONSALL REFRIGERATOR CAR 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Nov. 16

Patented Mar. 25, 1941 REFRIGERATOR CAR Charles D. Bonsall, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor, by

mesne assignments, frigerator Company,

to Standard Railway Rea corporation of Delaware Original application November 16, 1936, Serial No.

4 Claims.

The device or system relates to insulated refrigerator cars used to transport perishable commodities, such as vegetables, fruits, berries, meats, eggs, frozen fish, etc., and to maintain such commodities while in transit within a predetermined range of temperatures, thus necessitating the use of a cooling means in the summer and a heating means in the winter. It has been found that perishable commodities which have not been allowed to get too cold (freeze) or too hot (bake) have a high market value because they have a longer storage life.

The invention relates more specifically to the type of refrigerator car disclosed in the patent of which this is a division; that is, Bonsall No. 2,136,999, filed November 16, 1936, wherein refrigerant containers are positioned adjacent the roof of the car and filled through hatches in such roof and associated with other elements in the car or forming part thereof so that air cooled by the refrigerant in the container is directed through a duct associated with a vertical wall of the refrigerator to a space under the lading from which it rises, and being warned by the lading, enters the zone of influence of the refrigerant, and again being cooled thereby, repeats the cycle.

The object of the invention is to provide such a refrigerant container with outer solid walls and solid bottom to retain the melted ice, brine or other refrigerant, and to provide a foraminous basket within the solid container to keep the solid refrigerant away from the bottom (and also preferably the side walls thereof) of the container so that air may circulate around the refrigerant and cool the circulating air in the flue provided below the refrigerant. In the case of wet ice, the object is to keep the wet ice away from the bottom of the container so that the melted ice or ice water may freely drain to an outlet provided for that purpose. In such a case the ice water will cool the circulating air in the flue provided below the container.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 shows a typical cross section of a refrigerator car incorporatin my improved refrigerant container.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the car shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a diagram showing a typical relation of the refrigerant container to the other parts of the car.

My invention is adaptable to a refrigerator car having spaced apart insulated car walls 2; insulated roof 3; insulated floor 4; foraminous floor Divided and this application November 2, 1938, Serial No.

or floor rack 5 above the insulated floor 3 and an air space 6 between said floors.

As shown diagrammatically in Fig. 3 the refrigerant in the container 8 cools the air influe I0 so that it flows downwardlythrough the duct l2 into the space 6 below the foraminous floor 5, and being warmed by the lading, rises and enters the passageway 14, thence into the flue l0, and being again cooled by the refrigerant, repeats the cycle.

A foraminous basket 20 is set into an outer container 22 having solid walls 24 and solid bottom 26 with foraminous walls 28' and bottom 30 of the basket 20 spaced apart from the solid Walls and bottom respectively of the container to provide air flues 32 and 34 therebetween so that wet ice may be used as a refrigerant by putting such ice in the foraminous basket 20 so that air will circulate between the foraminous walls thereof and the solid Walls of the container and also between the solid bottom of the container and the foraminous bottom of the basket. When brine (or other liquid) is used as a refrigerant it may be confined by the solid walls 24 and bottom 26 of the container and cools the circulating air in the flue 34 below the container. A drain having a water seal may be provided for the container, which drain is provided with a closing valve, if desired. When brine is being used as a refrigerant, the foraminous basket 20 retards the movement of the liquid brine, due to the movement of the car.

The bottom of the foraminous basket 30 constitutes a secondary foraminous floor in spaced relation to the bottom 26 of the outer container to keep a solid refrigerant out of contact with the solid bottom 26 of the container. When wet ice is used as a refrigerant the melted ice or ice water is not retarded by the solid refrigerant in its movement toward the drain. The bottom 26 of the refrigerant container preferably slopes downwardly toward the drain.

The foraminous basket 20 may be made of wire netting, as shown, of a perforated metallic plate or similar structures.

This is a division of my application Serial No. 111,058., filed November 16, 1936.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the pre-- ferred form of the invention, though it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, as it is obvious that various modifications thereof, within the scope of the claims, will occur to persons skilled in the art.

I claim:

contact with arefrigerant in said inner mem-" ber. 2. In a refrigerator car, a refrigerant container disposed so that air circulating within the car is cooled thereby, said container comprising an outer member having solid bottom and solid Walls, a foraminous inner member having some of the walls thereof spaced from said outer member to provide a flue for air movement, an air inlet openin to said flue whereby some of said air flows through said flue and is cooled by contact with a refrigerant in said inner member, and means to drain a liquid from said outer member.

3. In a refrigerator car, a refrigerant container disposed so that air circulating within the car is cooled thereby, said container comprising an container below the roof and adjacent one of the walls, a duct associated with said wall, and an enclosing structure for said container having a cold air discharge opening leading to said duct and an air inlet opening at a higher elevation than said discharge opening, said structure be ing spaced from said container to provide a flue therebetween, said container comprising an outer member having solid bottom and walls and an inner foraminous member spaced from said outermember to provide a flue, an air inlet opening to the last mentioned flue so that part of the air flowing through the first mentioned inlet opening passes through said first mentioned flue and the other part through said second mentioned flue.

CHARLES D. BONSALL. 

